


Bring It Home

by BorisTheSpider



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-22
Updated: 2016-11-03
Packaged: 2018-08-23 22:37:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8345443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BorisTheSpider/pseuds/BorisTheSpider
Summary: Jack doesn't sleep.





	1. Chapter 1

Jack doesn’t sleep. How can he? He’s left behind to push papers while his agents risk their lives -- while _Gabe_ risks his life. He turns over in his bed once, twice, ends up tangled in the sheets. Eventually, he gives up, standing and just managing to untangle himself before he falls on his face. He dresses mechanically, pulling on a black t-shirt and standard-issue trousers. He doesn’t think as he laces up his boots. He doesn’t run into anyone as he makes his way to the kitchens; it is three in the morning, after all.

Gabe is scheduled to make contact at 0800 hours. Jack doesn’t think about that. Gabe was scheduled to make contact at 0800 hours the previous day, too, and he missed his check-in. Jack does _not_ think about that. He pours a cup of coffee and keeps his mind carefully blank.

Strike-Commander Morrison does not worry about Blackwatch Commander Reyes because he has no reason to. They have no personal connection. Blackwatch Commander Reyes is good at his job and he gets it done every time with minimal casualties and he _always_ comes back. He comes back and he shakes Strike-Commander Morrison’s shoulder and says, “Didja miss me?” with a grin and Strike-Commander Morrison replies, “In your dreams, Reyes,” and they laugh and Blackwatch Commander Reyes sends him the report and Strike-Commander Morrison reads everything, _everything_ that happened and he signs off on that report because no matter what he knows Blackwatch Commander Reyes got the job done. Strike-Commander Morrison does not worry about Blackwatch Commander Reyes.

Jack worries about Gabe. He sits over his coffee and tries not to think about anything, but the thoughts come unbidden anyway. He imagines the worst, of course: Gabe shot, bleeding out, unable to call for help, dying slowly, alone and left to rot; Gabe charging into the target’s hideout, taken by surprise and cut down by a dozen hostiles before he can even raise his shotgun; Gabe captured, held prisoner, interrogated and tortured and beaten to within an inch of his life.

Jack doesn’t realize he’s shaking until the mug slips from his hands. It and his heart shatter simultaneously and suddenly he can’t hold back a well of tears. He swipes desperately at his face, afraid that someone will come in and see their fearless leader in shambles. A ridiculous thought: it’s three in the morning; Jack is alone.

He grabs a towel from the counter and mops the coffee off the floor, carefully sweeping up porcelain shards and depositing them in the garbage. He dries his face and keeps his mind blank.

If he sits around and does nothing, his mind conjures up horrible things, so Jack goes to his office. He dives headfirst into a stack of paperwork and does not surface until he hears a soft beeping coming from his comm unit. He looks up to check the time: 8 o’clock, on the dot.

He scrambles for the comm and all his breath leaves him at once when he sees the ID. Jack briefly shuts his eyes, clears his throat, and hits ‘accept’.

“This is Reyes checking in.”

Jack can feel tears pricking his eyes again -- from relief this time. He keeps his voice steady, “Morning, Reyes. You missed your check-in yesterday.”

Gabe huffs a laugh and it comes through the line as a burst of static. “You worried about me, Morrison?”

Jack smiles shakily and can’t help a small, rueful laugh of his own. He shakes his head even though Gabe can’t see him. He replies, “In your dreams, Reyes.”

Gabe hums sarcastically before updating Jack on their progress. It’s a secure connection, encrypted, so he doesn’t hold anything back. “We should be home in a couple days,” he says.

When the call ends, Jack leans back in his chair and presses the heels of his hands against his closed eyes, letting out a shaky sigh. He finishes the form he was working on before the call came through, then goes back to his quarters. He showers, shaves, makes himself presentable. Then he goes back to his office, and he waits.

Other teams come and go, and Jack signs this form or that, and he reads every report except the one he wants to read. He sees almost every agent except the one he _needs_ to see.

He sleeps fitfully, waking before dawn and going to the kitchens for a cup of coffee. This day passes much the same as the previous day, including a call from Gabe at 0800 hours.

The next day comes and goes in a similar manner, except there is no check-in.

That night, Jack does not even try to sleep. He stays in his office, caffeine and anxiety keeping him awake.

Gabe’s team should return the next day, but they don’t. Jack checks their status on his tablet every ten minutes. Each time, it says the same thing: “on mission.” He doesn’t think.

Jack tries to keep up appearances, but he knows he’s failing when he makes eye contact with McCree in the hallway and sees concern in the boy’s eyes. Jack reaches up to scratch his cheek and realizes he’s forgotten to shave.

On the third day with no word from Gabe, Jack receives a knock on his office door. He calls out, “It’s open,” but his voice is raspy and he coughs to clear his throat. Angela opens the door and the concern in her eyes makes him flinch.

“Jesse told me it was bad, but--” she trails off, fingers nervously tapping the edges of her tablet as she takes in Jack’s appearance. “Sir,” she starts.

Jack raises a hand to silence her. “I’m more than capable of taking care of myself, doctor. I’ve just been under some stress lately.”

“ _Sir_ , I really don’t think--”

“Thank you, Dr. Ziegler, but I’ll be fine,” he gives her a small smile to support his claim, but it comes out as more of a grimace.

She nods and leaves the room, eyes downcast.

Two more days pass. Neither Gabe nor any members of his team make contact. Jack remembers to shave every day to keep the others off his back.

On the sixth day, Jack is signing a requisition form when a message pings on his tablet. It’s from McCree. _They’re back_ , it reads.

For seven seconds, Jack stares at the message, unmoving, processing. The moment he stands up, his office door opens. Gabe is there, grin on his face, sling on his left arm, and Hello Kitty band-aid on his right brow. “Didja miss me?” he chirps.

Jack is frozen, torn between anger and relief. He doesn’t know whether to punch Gabe or kiss him. He decides neither is a good idea at the moment. He falls back into his chair.

Gabe strolls in and tosses a file folder on Jack’s desk. Jack opens it, reading but not absorbing the information. He’s still not sure this isn’t a dream; he hasn’t gotten a lot of sleep in the past week.

After a moment of staring blankly at the file, Jack looks up at Gabe, whose smile has dimmed a bit. “Why didn’t you check in?” he asks.

Gabe shrugs, looks around the office. “Didn’t seem necessary, and,” he lifts his injured arm, “we were a little busy at the time.”

Jack leans forward, elbows on the desk, and rubs at his face.

Gabe takes a step closer, “Hey, were you worried?” Jack can hear the smile in his voice.

Jack sighs shakily, clasping his hands in front of himself and staring at them.

Seconds pass, and Gabe says, “Oh.”

Jack hears him pull up a chair to the other side of the desk and sit down, and then he feels hands on his own. He looks up to see Gabe staring at his face. Jack remembered to shower and shave but the lack of sleep shows itself in the rings around his eyes and he knows he looks awful.

“Jack,” Gabe starts, stops, reaches up to frame Jack’s face. “ _Jack_.”

Jack takes in Gabe’s face, suddenly so close, gaze following the scars and catching on the absurd band-aid before traveling down and around and back up to his eyes, filled with so much concern. Jack feels like he might cry. He doesn’t know what to say so he stays silent until Gabe closes his eyes and leans his forehead against Jack’s, and then Jack breaks. Tears flow down his cheeks and he squeezes his eyes shut tight but he can’t make it stop.

Gabe stands up, breaking contact only for a second as he rounds the desk. He kneels down and gathers Jack in his arms, running his hand through Jack’s hair and making soothing noises. Jack buries his face in Gabe’s shoulder, sobbing.

Jack doesn’t think as he cries into Gabe’s jacket, just focuses on the soothing sounds and the hand rubbing circles into his back. It feels like it goes on forever, but it’s only a minute or so before Jack is sniffling and raising his head. He makes to stand up -- somehow they’d ended up on the floor, Jack curled up in Gabe’s lap -- but Gabe tightens his arms around him, rendering him unable to move. Despite the restriction, it’s comforting, and Jack relaxes completely, sagging against Gabe’s chest.

He hears Gabe talking in Spanish and lets the sounds flow over him. He feels Gabe press a kiss to his temple. Jack wipes at his face until it’s relatively dry, lifts his head, and presses his lips to Gabe’s and his heart skips a beat when Gabe reciprocates. They keep it short and chaste -- Jack had just been crying, after all. Jack wraps his arms around Gabe’s middle and presses his face into Gabe’s shoulder, breathing him in.

 

* * *

  
Three weeks later, Gabe is sent out on another mission. At night, Jack does not sleep and he does not think. He drinks his coffee and he does paperwork and he waits. Every morning, at 0800 hours, Gabe checks in. “Are you worried?” he asks. “Yes,” Jack replies.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I heard Badfinger's "[Day After Day](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XonFZjuyc6E)" on the radio and I was like "ahhh! this would make great Overwatch fic!!" but I couldn't decide which ship to write so I ran to [aviatingwolves](http://aviatingwolves.tumblr.com/) like, "what should I do?! McHanzo? Pharmercy? Reaper76??" and she told me to do reaper76. so.
> 
> also the working title for this was "gay after gay" B) *finger guns*


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wasn't really planning on continuing, but then this happened. it sat in drive for like a week after i'd written most of it because i wasn't really sure how far i wanted to take it.

The next morning, Jack awakes in his own bed. “No,” he bolts upright. “ _No, no, no, no, no_.” He quickly slides out of bed, grabbing his comm off the bedside table and thumbing it on. He finds the details of the mission, reads the status: “Success.” All team members are back on base. He sighs in relief. It hadn’t been a dream.

He showers, mind running through the events of last night: Gabe returning, Jack crying, the kiss-- he must have fallen asleep after that, and somehow he ended up in his own bed.

He shuts off the water and dries quickly, scrambling into his usual on-base attire: a black tee and olive drab fatigue pants. He ties the laces on his boots as quickly as he can while still making the bows neat -- he does have an image to maintain, no matter how much that image had suffered through his countless sleepless nights. He leaves the room, detouring only to grab his tablet on the way out.

He heads toward Gabe’s office first, keeping his gaze directed at the tablet and pretending to type so nobody will try to talk to him. When he arrives, he knocks once on the door, then turns the handle. It’s locked. There are no lights on inside. Either Gabe is hiding, or he’s not in there. Jack chooses to believe the latter.

The next stop is the canteen. Most of the base is there eating breakfast. Jack scans the crowd, doesn’t spot that familiar beanie, and leaves. If he’s not filing paperwork or eating, Gabe is likely in the firing range.

Except he’s not. Jack does see McCree teaching Fareeha how to shoot his revolver, which he’s not too concerned about, but he decides to shoot Ana a message about it since he’s holding his tablet anyway. He scans the room once more before ducking out.

He checks the training yard and even the hangar before he realizes he’s being an idiot. “You’re losin’ it, Morrison,” he mumbles to himself, ignoring the others in the hallway. His office is closer than his room, so he heads in there so no one else will hear him; he’s feeling strangely embarrassed about the whole situation. “Athena,” he says, looking up at the ceiling out of habit, “where’s Commander Reyes?”

The AI responds, “Commander Reyes in located in his quarters.”

Jack blinks. “Thanks,” he says, rushing out of the office and down the hall.

He hesitates, just for a second, before knocking on the door. He delivers three sharp raps and the door opens almost instantly.

“Hey, Jack,” Gabe breathes, shy smile on his face. He still has that ridiculous band-aid on his brow.

Jack can’t help but grin in return and he ducks his head. Looking back up, he says, “What are you doing in your room?”

Gabe waves him inside and Jack checks that the hallway is clear before stepping inside. Gabe says, “I figured this would be the first place you look for me.”

Jack laughs, reaching up to rub the back of his neck with one hand. “Yeah, I mean, it’s pretty obvious that you’d be here. In your room.”

“You didn’t look here first, did you?”

Jack shakes his head, still grinning, “Nah. Checked the whole base before asking Athena where you were.”

Gabe snickers. “Jack,” he says fondly. He takes a step closer, cradles Jack’s head in his hands, and presses their lips together. Jack melts against him, throwing his arms over Gabe’s shoulders and pulling him closer. Gabe steps back, sitting on the bed and dragging Jack down onto his lap. The tablet falls from Jack’s hand, landing softly on the bed, as he positions his knees on either side of Gabe’s thighs.

Gabe drags his hands up Jack’s thighs to palm the curve of his ass. Jack sighs, “Gabe,” over his lips as he grinds down, making Gabe jerk up in response. Gabe nips at his jaw, trails down his neck, chooses a point near the junction of neck and shoulder, and bites down. Jack moans loudly and grinds down again, starting a shaky rhythm. He gets a hand to the front of Gabe’s pants, hastily undoing the button and zipper.

Just as he’s about to reach inside, his tablet chimes with an urgent notification.

Gabe clings to Jack’s neck for a second even after Jack stutters to a halt, swatting lightly at him.

“I have to--” he groans as Gabe licks the mark he’s created, “--Have to check that.”

Gabe relents, sitting back and leaning on his hands. Jack reaches for the tablet, turning it on and seeing a message from Ana. For a brief moment, he debates whether or not to open it. He decides he should: she may have marked it urgent for a reason.

It’s a video message. Judging by the length of the CC list, Jack guesses it was sent to the entire base. He angles the tablet so Gabe can see the screen and hits play, recognizing the firing range immediately. In the distance, he sees Fareeha handing a gun to McCree. The camera turns to Ana, who does not look amused. She holds up a small dart gun, waving it at the camera, “This is what happens to idiot cowboys who disobey my rules.”

The camera turns back toward Fareeha and McCree. They appear to be talking now, Peacekeeper safely in its holster. The dart gun appears at the right side of the frame. Ana fires. McCree sways, falls against the partition, and slides down until his ass hits the floor. The camera switches back to Ana. In the background, Fareeha shouts, “ _Mom!_ ” Ana says, “Let this be a warning,” before ending the video.

“Oh my god,” Jack says, hand over his mouth. “I told her to stop abusing the urgent flag.”

Gabe barks a laugh, returning his hands to their previous position on Jack’s ass and nuzzling his throat.

Jack hums and says, “You aren’t worried?”

“Nope,” Gabe replies, unbuttoning Jack’s pants and grinning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry mccree, but really, what were you thinking???

**Author's Note:**

> see me on [tumblr](http://brandybuckybarnes.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
